The Economics of the Common People

Nan YongHunan Literature and Art Publishing House · ChinaApr 2026

Rating 3.7
Word count
210K words
Chapters
40
ISBN
9787540451684

Tags

Finance and Economics Social ObservationFinancial Hot TopicsLife WisdomPolicy AnalysisWealth StoriesPopular Explanation

Summary

Grassroots Economics is divided into ten chapters and is a plain-language, easy-to-understand economics handbook for ordinary people. Taking as its reference point a wide range of hot topics closely tied to ordinary people's daily lives—GDP, inflation, taxes, foreign exchange reserves, personal investment, the property market, the stock market, the RMB exchange rate, green and low-carbon development, wage increases, and high-speed rail construction—it opens a window onto personal finance, economic analysis, and the interpretation of economic policy through lively, unrestrained language, a witty and sharply satirical style, and incisive, professionally grounded analysis, helping those who may know little about economics to "make sense of it all" and firmly take their fate into their own hands!

Editor's review

Grassroots Economics is not a serious academic work; it is more like a key forged for ordinary people, trying to open the door to economics that seems so profound and unfathomable. With his rich experience in business management and keen powers of observation, author Nan Yong ingeniously grafts complex economic principles onto daily life and social phenomena. The book's core value lies in its strong "disenchantment" quality—it strips away the elaborate mathematical models and technical jargon of economics and instead uses a wealth of vivid, down-to-earth cases to explain how economic laws invisibly govern our consumption, work, and investment decisions.\n\nIn content, the book covers a wide range of topics, from personal finance and market games to macroeconomic trends, but always keeps to the "grassroots" perspective. It does not offer secrets for getting rich overnight; rather, it seeks to cultivate an economic way of thinking that helps readers stay clear-headed amid the flood of information, identify traps, and make more rational choices. This "teach a man to fish" orientation distinguishes it from many utilitarian personal-finance guides on the market.\n\nOf course, the book's depth and systematicity cannot compare with professional textbooks, and some of its views may be controversial or somewhat simplified. But this is precisely its positioning: as a popular-science book, its primary task is to spark interest and thought, not to pursue theoretical completeness. For readers who want to understand the economic phenomena around them and improve their financial literacy but are intimidated by professional thresholds, this book offers a relaxed and thought-provoking starting point. It reminds us that economics is not a temple of learning but a tool everyone can use to improve their lives.

Who it's for

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Reading tips

  1. It can be used as an advance primer for economics; there is no need to finish it in one sitting, and it is suitable for reading on commutes or in spare moments
  2. While reading, compare it with your own consumption and investment experience and try to reinterpret them through the book's perspective
  3. If a topic strongly interests you, use it as an opportunity to seek more specialized books for further reading

About the publisher

Hunan Literature and Art Publishing House China · Founded in 1985

Hunan Literature and Art Publishing House is a publisher known for its literary titles, with a catalogue spanning foreign literature, world classics, classical Chinese literature, essays and miscellaneous writings, and mystery and detective fiction. Judging from the more than 1,100 books in the database, the press publishes foreign classics such as Crime and Punishment, Snow Country, The Complete Sherlock Holmes and Letter from an Unknown Woman, as well as Chinese classical and modern literary works including Lu Xun's Wandering and A Madman's Diary and Wu Jingzi's The Scholars. In terms of translators and authors, translations by Cao Guowei and Tan Jinghua appear in its foreign literature titles, and the authors involved include Dostoevsky, Kawabata Yasunari, Conan Doyle and Zweig. Its publishing character lies in introducing Chinese and foreign literary classics side by side, balancing popular and serious works and attending to both readability and literary value. Public information is limited; the above is a brief overview based solely on the books in the database.

Contents

  1. 版权信息
  2. 序 借我一双慧眼吧！
  3. 前言 “经济”是个什么东西？
  4. 第一章 给我一点儿耐心，给您一点儿基础
  5. 第一节 亮相——名词解释
  6. 第二节 故事的起源——一切源于一个“公式”
  7. 第二章 跨过“调结构”这道坎儿
  8. 第一节 归去来兮话“消费”
  9. 第二节 千秋万代靠“三农”
  10. 第三节 打不起趔趄的华丽转身——“十二五”
  11. 第三章 到底谁疯了？——要命的“房市”和“股市”
  12. 第一节 房价！房价！
  13. 第二节 我要“投资”！
  14. 第四章 “金融”猛如虎！
  15. 第一节 都是“次贷”惹的祸
  16. 第二节 问世间“信”为何物？直教人鬼迷心窍！
  17. 第五章 世上无难事，只要肯登攀——“价值链”的故事
  18. 第一节 价值的阶梯——四次产业分类法
  19. 第二节 从“断奶”到“成人”——“进口替代”与“出口替代”
  20. 第三节 接力赛——“雁行发展模式”
  21. 第四节 比蒙娜丽莎更牛叉的笑容——“微笑曲线”
  22. 第六章 看谁狠！——“贸易”与“汇率”背后的事儿
  23. 第一节 把货扔进太平洋
  24. 第二节 “人民币升值”狂骚曲——吃饱了就骂厨子
  25. 第七章 “工资”大于天
  26. 第一节 解决汇率争端的捷径——涨工资
  27. 第二节 “工资”之殇
  28. 第三节 条条大路通“政府”——调整工资的手段
  29. 第八章 向左看，向右看——那些发生在你身边的事儿
  30. 第一节 “能源问题”的是与非
  31. 第二节 “时事”与“实事”
  32. 第九章 “经济”的近亲是“政治”
  33. 第一节 谁是“大忽悠”？——“民主”焦虑症
  34. 第二节 站着说话不腰疼——习惯性骂街
  35. 第十章 外面的世界很精彩，外面的世界很无奈
  36. 第一节 外面也有大忽悠
  37. 第二节 “美元”为啥这么牛？——“布雷顿森林体系”的故事
  38. 第三节 从“入关”到“入世”
  39. 后记：不管“树木”，只看“森林”
  40. 跋

FAQ

Is this book similar to The Undercover Economist? Both are committed to explaining economic principles through everyday cases and belong to the category of popular economics. But Grassroots Economics focuses more on China's local social environment and the perspective of ordinary people, and its cases and discussions have a more "grassroots" character and practical relevance.
Is the content of the book outdated? The book was published several years ago, and its specific cases and data may not reflect the latest market conditions. However, the economic way of thinking and analytical frameworks it seeks to impart (such as cost-benefit analysis and incentive theory) are relatively enduring and still valuable for cultivating economic intuition.
Can this book teach me how to manage money and make a profit? The book's main purpose is not to provide direct financial action plans or investment advice, but to help readers build a thinking model for analyzing economic problems. Understanding basic principles is an important foundation for making sound financial decisions, but concrete practice requires combining more specialized knowledge with personal circumstances.

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About the author

Nan Yong Author · Chinese

Nan Yong is a Chinese management expert, seasoned professional manager, and bestselling author of management books. From 1998 to 2006 he studied in Japan, earning a master's degree in commerce from Waseda University. After returning to China, he worked in management roles in industries including lubricants, food, and automobile sales, gaining extensive experience in business operations and team management. His writing draws heavily on hands-on practice. His representative works, including the Give You a Company, See How You Manage It series, Grassroots Economics, and Who Is Fooling Us, have sold more than 500,000 copies in total. He has also written titles such as Motivate Like This and People Will Follow You, High-EQ Management: Leading a Team Means Grasping Details, and How the Rich Think Differently 2 (New Edition). Covering management, finance, personal finance, and personal growth, his plain, concrete style uses cases and details to speak to general readers and managers alike.